Save Navan Hospital group to launch nationwide campaign

In a week when up to 26 people have been waiting on hospital beds at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, local campaigners vowed to start a national campaign for improved health services.
The Save Navan Hospital Campaign, which brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of Navan on two occassions in the past three years, is to serve as an anchor for a National Hospital Campaign.
The Navan Group will meet with the Minister for Health, James Reilly on the 16th of January to hammer home the depth of this crisis.
However, they are also planning to link up with other hospital campaigns around the country.
Chairman, Deputy Peadar Tóibín said the damage being done to the health services has got to such a crisis level that the Save Navan Hospital Campaign have decided to set up a National Hospital Campaign to fight these cuts.
“My office has contacted every hospital campaign in the country, north and south, in order to create a united front.
“For too long citizens and patients have fought health cuts in a fractured regional manner. We aim to escalate this to a national level where it cannot be ignored. We will hold national days of action right across the country and we will organise a mass rally on the Dáil.
“The health and well being of our citizens should be the governments first priority and we will campaign until they realise this.”
The Save Navan Hospital Campaign brought thousands of people onto the streets of Navan on two occasions over the past three years in its determined fight to save services at Our Lady’s Hospital.
In October 2010, more than 10,000 protesters vented their feelings at cuts at their local hospital and in November 2012 a crowd of between 6,000 and 7,000 from communities all across County Meath took to the street to protest at cutbacks and downgrading at Our Lady’s Hospital.